QUAKE Webquest

Your mission, if you are brave enough and willing to accept it....

.... is to find the important info on Earthquakes, using this page as your guide.

Mission 1st Step: Begin by understanding what the Richter Scale is all about....review 2 sites (Click on each "hyperlink!):

• First hyperlink sends you to the Wikipedia page on the Richter Scale. As you look over it make sure to check out the table that discusses the frequency and damage of various magnitudes of earthquakes and the table that gives different examples/comparisons of the Richter Scale. Questions to answer:
  • How many magnitude levels are there in the scale?
  • How many of those levels have a description of "moderate" or worse?
  • A strong quake has a magnitude of 6.0. How much energy would be released from a 6.o?
• This second link is from the US Geological Society (USGS). On this page you will find a map showing the location and magnitude of the 17 largest earthquakes ever recorded. Please click and search for info on the different quakes, especially the most recent ones (2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012). Feel free to click the links and look at more information on anything that interests you.

Mission 2nd Step: Search for specific Earthquake info...

Check out each one of the following links;(Click on each "hyperlink!): . See if you can figure out what is common among most of these earthquakes....

• 1556 Shaanxi earthquake in China
• 1906 San Francisco earthquake (worst in U.S. history)
• 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake Wiki
• Facts about the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
• 2010 Haiti Earthquake
• CNN Article on 2010 Haiti Earthquake
• 2012 Tohuku, Japan Earthquake/Tsunami

Mission 3rd Step: Tsunamis

Hopefully you recognized that tsunamis are common with earthquakes, often creating catastrophic events. Check out these links that help explain more about tsunamis:

• Tsunami Wiki
• National Geographic Tsunami Profile
• Tsunami Article 1
• How Tsunami Forms

Mission 4th Step: Pennsylvania's Earthquake History

Don't get overly worried, we are not in any imminent danger, but the East Coast has had a little bit of tectonic action....

....the last significant quake near us was one with a 3.4 magnitude in early 2008, located a little bit southwest of Berks County.

• History of Pennsylvania Quakes article - read this article to find not only a list of Pennsylvania's tremors, but one that effected the Reading area.
• Berks County Quake Info Site - check this site for maps and info graphs
• Pennsylvania Interactive Map - awesome interactive map that shows all past earthquakes, fault lines, land depressions and unique geologic land features!

Check out info on one of the United States major fault lines -the Ramapo Fault (it is a sleeping giant!!) that is very close to us:

• Ramapo Fault wiki
• Ramapo Fault article - find out what it is like to live right on the fault line.
• Recent Activity on Ramapo? Article
• Detailed Graphic Map of the Ramapo Fault in PA.